United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-03-13

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE

MONTAS

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N.

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES SOMALIA;

DECIDES TO HOLD MEET ON IRAN TOMORROW AT 5 P.M.

The Security Council is holding consultations on Somalia with a briefing by Francois Lonseny Fall, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for that country.

[Following consultations, the Security Council President, Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa, read out a press statement on Somalia and also announced that consultations on Iran would be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday.]

Also on the Security Council agenda tomorrow is a briefing and consultations on the Middle East and another set of consultations on Cote dIvoire.

HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF URGES ZIMBABWEAN AUTHORITIES TO ENSURE

IMMEDIATE, IMPARTIAL PROBE INTO RECENTS EVENTS

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today welcomed the order of Zimbabwes High Court that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai be provided immediately with all necessary medical treatment and today be brought before the Court or released.

Citing shocking reports of police abuse, Arbour said that the intimidation of a peaceful assembly is unacceptable.

She also urged the Zimbabwean authorities to ensure an immediate, impartial and comprehensive investigation into the recent events in the country.

SPECIAL ENVOY FOR DARFUR TO TRAVEL TO ERITREA

The Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson will be traveling to Eritrea. The special envoy has a personal invitation from President Isayas Afewerki of Eritrea. The purpose of the visit is to discuss how to best co-ordinate Eritrean mediation efforts with those of African Union and the United Nations to re-energizing the Darfur political process.

Following his scheduled visit to Eritrea from 21-22 March, Jan Eliasson is planning a second joint visit to Sudan with African Union Envoy for Darfur, Salim Ahmed Salim, before the end of the month.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH E.U. DEVELOPMENT MINISTERS

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro is in Europe this week.

Today in Bonn, she attended a meeting with European Union development ministers and in a speech the Deputy Secretary-General said wants to pay special attention to the UNs development agenda, and in particular find new ways of working with governments to attain the Millennium Development Goals.

In addition, she said it will be her responsibility to work with the wide constellation of UN agencies and entities to ensure that the broad UN system can truly deliver as one.

While in Bonn, met with the UN staff based there and with the Mayor.

Her next stop is Strasbourg, where she will visit the European Parliament tomorrow.

SPECIAL ENVOY FOR GEORGIA CALLS TO FORM

JOINT FACT-FINDING GROUP ON LOCAL ATTACKS

On Georgia, the United Nations received unconfirmed reports that, last Sunday, Georgian government facilities in the Upper Kodori Valley were attacked from the ground and from the air. The United Nations takes those reports with the utmost seriousness.

For his part, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Georgia, Jean Arnualt, immediately contacted the Georgian and Abkhaz sides in order to form a joint fact-finding group. The group, which both sides accepted, is tasked with investigating the veracity and the details of the reports. In addition to Georgian and Abkhaz participants, the group includes representatives of the UN Mission and the Commonwealth of Independent States Peacekeeping Force.

This group has already started its work and was able to access the Upper Kodori Valley without any impediments. The joint investigation is currently still ongoing. We will share findings as they become available.

LATEST REPORT ON U.N. MISSION IN KOSOVO IS RELEASED

Out as a document is the Secretary-Generals latest report on the UN Mission in Kosovo.

In it, he says that, after almost eight years of UN administration, Kosovo and its people need clarity on their future. He adds that moving towards a timely conclusion of the Kosovo status process should be a priority for the international community as a whole.

The Secretary-General also says that the use of violence by extremist groups in Kosovo to achieve political objectives cannot be tolerated and should be strongly condemned.

PROGRESS IS REPORTED IN BURUNDI FOR CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CONFLICT

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, was in Burundi today, where she said she was encouraged by the progress made by Burundis Government to ensure greater protection for children affected by the conflict there.

Her goal was to get a firsthand look at the situation on the ground, paying particular attention to the issues of child soldiers, sexual violence, and the detention of children associated with armed groups.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENT

MORE THAN 40,000 CIVILIANS FLEE FIGHTING IN SRI LANKA'S EAST: More than 40,000 civilians have fled fierce fighting in Sri Lanka's east over the past week, pushing to an estimated 127,000 the number of displaced within the affected district of Batticaloa, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

MORE COOPERATION NEEDED FOR COLOMBIAN REFUGEES IN ECUADOR: High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has called for more international cooperation to help thousands of Colombian refugees in Ecuador. UNHCR and the Ecuadorian government jointly estimate that up to 250,000 Colombians have fled to Ecuador to escape the armed conflict in neighbouring Colombia. The numbers keep growing, with an average of 700 Colombians a month asking for asylum.

NUMBER OF COUNTRIES ARE REVERSING CENTURIES OF DEFORESTATION: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the State of the Worlds Forests 2007 in Rome today. According to the report, a number of the worlds regions are reversing centuries of deforestation and are now showing an increase in forest area. The report underlines the positive effects of economic prosperity and careful forest management in saving forests, and notes that over 100 countries have established national forest programmes. FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo participated in the launch.

U.N. PARTNERS LAUNCH $18 MILLION APPEAL FOR MOZAMBIQUE: The United Nations and its humanitarian partners yesterday launched a flash appeal for nearly $18 million to help Mozambique respond to the humanitarian needs of flood and cyclone survivors.

U.N. CLIMATE CHANGE CONVENTION CHIEF ADDRESSES CLEAN ENERGY MEETING: Several international meetings are being held this week on climate change-related issues, including a two-day conference that starts today in London on financing clean energy. Addressing that meeting today were World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and the UN Climate Change Conventions Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer. De Boer said the carbon market created through the Kyoto Protocol, which was designed to tackle climate change, had the potential to expand so as to generate up to $100 billion per year.

REPORT ON INDEPENDENT PROBE INTO HARIRI ASSASSINATION TO BE RELEASED SOON: Asked when the latest report by Serge Brammertz, the head of the UN International Independent Investigative Commission into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hairiri and others in Lebanon, the Spokesperson said that the report was due out very soon. Asked if Brammertz was in New York, Montas later explained that for security reasons she was not at liberty to speak about Brammertz' whereabouts.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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